HR Talk: 13 Questions Answered about the 105-Day Maternity Leave Law (And an Excel Calculator to Compute Mat Ben)

The RA No. 11210 105-Day Maternity Leave Law is one of the most highly celebrated laws passed by the Duterte government last 2019. Despite the hoopla surrounding this law, so many people are still confused about its application, specifically how the maternity benefit is computed. Even as I’ve browsed through multiple articles, so many writers […]

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HR Talk: 16 Common Questions Answered about Probationary Employment in the Philippines

Let’s Talk about Probationary Employment I have been receiving a lot of questions from probationary employees who found their employment allegedly prematurely ended after the ECQ was lifted. Many have started less than 180 days ago, mostly from January 2020. After the lockdown, probationary employees found themselves unceremoniously unemployed by “heartless” employers who don’t seem […]

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Life Tip: Get Pregnant Only When You are Sure about Your Relationship

I have a friend who is somewhat insecure about her relationship with her partner. The culprit? She got pregnant after a mere 3- to 4-months of dating her partner, forcing them both into an “insta-partnership” even though they still don’t know each other very well. Consequently, while the partner has embraced their child together, on […]

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Work Don’t Stop for the Weary

I pushed myself too hard. The day after the D&C, I still showed up to my friend’s wedding where my daughter is the flower girl. Sto. Domingo church was not airconned and hot, so I spent the last half hour in the car napping. The doctor said that to prevent spinal anesthesia, to lie down […]

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Another One Bites the Dust

I was pregnant. And then I wasn’t. As per my last, the heartbeat stopped last week. It was a healthy 115 beats last May 18, and now, it hasn’t grown. The embryo is 7 weeks old. The baby should have been this week today: We are sad of course. Why is it that other women […]

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When you lose a baby via miscarriage

**WARNING: SOME TROUBLING, VERY DISTURBING BLOODY PHOTOS OF MY EXPERIENCE AHEAD*** I miscarried and had my raspa last Wednesday, August 15. We lost the baby at 11 weeks old. The heartbeat simply stopped. We didn’t know until the 14th week when I started spotting. Apparently, our baby was already dead for 3 weeks. We learned […]

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I am Pregnant… Again!

I am pregnant again! A lot of thoughts went into my head: I am still breastfeeding. How will my daughter nursing impact my baby especially since she’s very malikot. Will it be a boy or a girl? A girl is cute, but a boy will be nice. At least, there’s someone to carry the family […]

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The Tale of Two Pregnancies

I talked about our driver who was na-kupit by the girlfriend. Despite having relationship problems with his needy and controlling girlfriend, our driver managed to get her pregnant, of which I believe is NOT an accident. *The things women do to cling on a relationship, mutter mutter…* He is obviously not too happy with what […]

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“Nakupit”

I asked my husband the English translation of the Filipino word, “Kupit.” “There’s actually no accurate English translation,” he said. “But it’s like getting pregnant out of wedlock.” That’s actually not a good translation. For me, nakupit means to be caught in a net. To be deceived and as a result, was given no choice.   This is […]

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The Plight of the Single Mothers

There are many single mothers at the place I work in. A lot of them had their first child as a teenager, and most of them in their 20s. Who are the fathers? Well, half of them did not take responsibility, leaving the mother and child to the whims of life. While the other half are still […]

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How does it feel to donate 3000 oz. of breast milk in 10 months?

My daughter is an exclusively breastfed baby. Ever since she was born, she has received nourishment straight from the boob. Not for the lack of trying, we’ve tried to get her to take milk from the bottle, but she has stubbornly insisted to go boob or go hungry. Consequently, I had to donate all the breast […]

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Updates: Sick but Alive

It is a pain to be pregnant and be sick. You are always extra careful on the type of medications you can consume. For example, for headaches, I cannot take Advil, and must go to the drugstore and buy Tylenol instead. For my dry cough, Dimetapp is a no-no. Robitussin is a safer option. For […]

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